Chicago PD season 13 has a looming Intelligence crisis on the horizon, but NBC can mitigate it by bringing back a forgotten fan-favorite. With a few episodes already in, One Chicago has settled into the new year with more procedural cases. For Voight’s team, that includes Imani finding her place in the 21st District after a chance encounter with Intelligence in the premiere.
So far, Chicago PD season 14 has already tackled a variety of stories during the 2025-2026 TV cycle despite only having been on the air for a few weeks. The premiere revolved around getting the team back together. It’s then followed by Torres, Ruzek and Burgess, and then Voight’s narratives. While it continues these character-driven episodes, it seems like the NBC cop show has found a way to do it without making it feel too compartmentalized.
Chicago PD Season 13 Has Been Without Ruzek For A While Now
NBC and Wolf Entertainment tend to do cast rotations as part of their cost-cutting measures, so missing a character for brief period of time isn’t out of the norm. Ruzek’s absence, however, is a little complicated, as it’s rooted in reports of Patrick Flueger taking an unexpected leave of absence in the middle of Chicago PD season 13. It’s worth noting that at this point in its storytelling, Ruzek and Burgess have just gotten married, so there’s increased interest in what’s next for them.
The unfortunate development isn’t new to the One Chicago franchise. A couple of years ago, Taylor Kinney also took a leave of absence in the middle of Chicago Fire‘s run. The assumption is that Ruzek will eventually find his way back to Intelligence. In fact, the show has even barely acknowledged his absence, which may sound counterintuitive, but is actually a good sign for his future fate.
Ruzek’s Absence Is The Perfect Time To Bring Back Antonio Dawson
Intelligence has operated with fewer members before. That said, Ruzek’s absence opens the perfect opportunity to bring back Antonio Dawson to fill the spot that he vacated. There was no clear reason given as to why Jon Seda exited in Chicago PD season 6. The assumption is that the show creatives decided to write him out of the series because they thought that the character has run its course. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the way he left has kept the door open for his eventual return.
Bringing back Dawson, even just for a plot while Ruzek is gone, would allow Chicago PD to finally give the character a definitive ending. His departure from Intelligence was, frankly, a tad disappoointing, especially for a character who was so central to the story from the get-go. In any case, Seda maintains a good relationship with his former co-workers, so it shouldn’t be that difficult to convince him to return.
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